Lube Civitanova failed to secure a win in their away match against last-placed Monza in the third round of the new half-season of the elite Italian championship. Alex Nikolov, recovering from the flu, entered the game in the second set, after his teammates disastrously lost the first set 25:13.
Gianpaolo Medei's boys lost 3:2 (25:13, 22:25, 17:25, 31:29, 15:12), having had the opportunity to close the match in the fourth set, after Alex Nikolov won match point twice, but the hosts proved to have stronger nerves. Zaytsev and company won the set 31:29, to take the match to a tie-break.
Inspired by the success, Monza took the initiative at the start of the final set, being the first to reach the 8th point (8:5). The visitors managed to get within one point of the opponent (9:8) after an attack by Nikolov, but the hosts' pressure continued and with a series of good plays, they closed the set and the match 15:12.
The match will be remembered for Alex Nikolov scoring 1000 points since the beginning of his stay at Lube! Our national player reached the 1000-point mark in the fourth set. Nikolov finished with the most points for his team - 19 (2 blocks), which were not enough for the win.Chinenyeze, Bottolo and Lagumdzija finished with 16 points each.
Canadian international Arthur Szwarc was the top scorer - 24 points (1 block, 1 ace), while Zaytsev, who is moving to Turkey next season, added another 14. Three more players from the winning team passed the 10-point mark.
Thus, with the 2 points won, Monza's team overtook Grottazzolina, who started their match against Verona an hour later.Lube is in fifth place, with their most important match of the year ahead - the cup quarter-final against Matey Kaziyski and Allianz Milano on December 29th.
MONZA: Lee d.n.p., Frasho d.n.p., Juantorena d.n.p., Rohrs 17, Marttila, Mancini Mosca, Beretta 11, Kreling 1, Picchio (L) d.n.p., Di Martino, Averill 13, Gaggini (L), Zaytsev 14, Szwarc 24. Head coach: Eccheli
CIVITANOVA: Chinenyeze 16, Gargiulo 2, Loepky 1, Orduna, Bisotto (L), Balaso (L), Boninfante 3, Porya 1,Nikolov 19, Lagumdzija 16, D'Amico 3, Podrascanin 6, Bottolo 16, Tenorio d.n.p. Head coach: Medei
Notes: set durations 26', 30', 30', 42', 19'. Total time: 2h 27'.
Monza: service errors 17, aces 6, blocks 10, attack efficiency 59%, reception 46% (29%).
Civitanova: service errors 22, aces 4, blocks 10, attack efficiency 57%, reception 48% (35%).
Spectators: 2,953.
Most Valuable Player: Averill.
